Avoid Passing Anxiety on to Your Kids
On a recent afternoon, Neeta Sharma was trying to get his two young sons to their skating class. A work assignment delayed her attempts to leave the house, and when Neeta was finally ready to go, she realized that the boys still didn’t have their skating accessories on. She began to feel overwhelmed and frustrated, and in the car ride on the way to the class, she shouted at them for not being ready on time. Only after a few moments, she suddenly realized, filled with anxiety, “What am I doing? This isn’t their fault. This is me.”
Neeta has dealt with anxiety for as long as she can remember, but it has become acute since the birth of his second son when she began to experience postpartum depression. She knows that her anxiety occasionally causes her to lash out at the little kids when she doesn’t really mean to, and she can see that it affects them.
What does a child think of anxious parents?
Witnessing a parent in a state of anxiety can be more than just momentarily unsettling for children. Kids look to their parents for information about how to interpret ambiguous situations; if a parent seems consistently anxious and fearful, the child will determine that a variety of scenarios are unsafe. And there is evidence that children of anxious parents are more likely to exhibit anxiety themselves, a probable combination of genetic risk factors and learned behaviors. In some cases, they get really scared seeing their parents anxious. They don’t want mothers and fathers to feel upset and worry.
While reacting in a certain manner, as parents, you don’t realize that you’re transmitting your own stress your child. Later on, when you see the changes happening in the kids, it makes you feel more anxious, worried and stressed.
How to cope up with anxiety issues?
It can be very difficult to communicate a sense of calm to your child when you are struggling to cope with your own anxiety. But, thankfully, anxiety is one of the treatable mental health problems. A person can do many things on their own to manage anxiety, and there are professional homeopaths to help with anxiety problems.
Every homeopathic remedy is characterised by a particular state of mind. All of us experience a particular condition of illness at some point. This state reflects our individual response to the world around us. It also influences how we think, feel, talk, behave, act or even react. Homeopathic medicines bring about subtle changes at our mental and emotional levels. For example, a person who has suppressed his/her anger or shame from being a 'victim' in school or at work, may find that he/she is, at long last, able to control anger in a healthy manner with the homeopathic medicine, Staphysagria.
Anger is more than just emotion. It’s a normal human attribute, as long as it does not go out of hand or become destructive. When this happens, a few doses of Cuprum Metallicum would be useful to calm one’s negative storm. Likewise, when there’s excessive anger, ironically leading one to tears, Zincum Metallicum would be a handy remedy. Some people show extreme anger, accompanied by abrupt mood swings. A dose of Tarentula can bring about a calming change in them and their wayward behaviour.
Anxiety is as old as the hills, a normal reaction to stress. It can play the spoilsport or motivate us. For generalised anxiety, Gelsemium is a useful remedy. For someone who has intense anxiety spells followed by panic attacks, Aconitum Napellus can bring emotional quiet. For individuals showing extreme anxiety about health, Arsenicum Album comes like a breath of fresh air and also provides relief. Some people have what is called anticipatory anxiety — anxiety before an event, such as an examination, speech or presentation. This can be quietly relieved with Lycopodium. It’s all in the mind. This is what homeopathy addresses and treats, gently.
